Microsoft Puts to Rest IE for Mac
Web developers now have one less browser to worry about, at least officially. Microsoft announced that as of December 31, Internet Explorer 5 for Mac will no longer be supported, and downloads of the browser would end on January 31, 2006. Microsoft ceased development of IE for Mac back in June 2003.
"In accordance with published support lifecycle policies, Microsoft will end support for Internet Explorer for Mac on December 31st, 2005, and will provide no further security or performance updates," the company said. Microsoft encourages users to upgrade to more recent Web browsers, such as Apple's Safari.
Gateses Named Time Persons of the Year
Bill and Melinda Gates have been bestowed Time Magazine's annual "Persons of the Year" award, along with U2 rocker Bono. Time said it chose the three for their relentless efforts in helping to fight diseases such as Malaria and AIDS, as well as eliminate poverty in Africa.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates holds a personal fortune of over $46.5 billion, which has enabled him to become the most philanthropic person in history. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest charity in the world with a $29 billion endowment.
Gaim 2.0 Messaging Client Hits Beta
AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo continue to push out new versions of their respective instant messaging clients with added features like voice and video. But the open source community has been making progress with a client of their own: Gaim. Gaim 2.0 hit beta over the weekend after 15 months of development.
Gaim 2.0 Beta 1 features a rewritten status system, smooth scrolling, support for advanced MSN Messenger features like nudges and Yahoo Doodle, improvements to file transfer under AIM and ICQ, support for Apple's Bonjour, and even voice over IP capabilities. Downloads of Gaim 2.0 are available for Windows and UNIX systems.
AMD Japan Gets Evidence Against Intel
A Tokyo court on Friday granted AMD Japan access to evidence compiled by Japan's Fair Trade Commission on rival Intel, which the chipmaker plans to use as part of a lawsuit it filed against the company in June.
The JFTC had found that Intel violated antitrust laws by forcing quotas and coercing customers not to buy AMD processors. Specifically, one OEM was coerced into agreeing to purchase all of its CPUs from Intel, while another was mandated with an Intel-imposed quota of 10 percent non-Intel purchases.
Microsoft to Host New Web Conference
With Microsoft embarking on a new "live era" of Web based services, there's only one thing missing from its efforts to pioneer the so-called Web 2.0: a conference to back it up. Thus, the Redmond company has scheduled next March to hold a 72-hour "conversation" in Las Vegas that it has dubbed MIX 06.
Acknowledging it's been "five long years" since it released a new version of Internet Explorer, Microsoft evangelist Ray Winninger says MIX is designed to showcase the company's renewed investment in the Web through development of new technologies and programs.
Dell Recalls 35,000 Laptop Batteries
Following reports of overheating, Dell has issued a recall of batteries used in its Latitude, Precision and Inspiron notebook computers that were shipped between October 5 and 13 of this year. The recall includes 22,000 batteries shipped in the U.S. and another 13,000 distributed overseas.
Although it has heard of no injuries, Dell says the batteries, which were manufactured in China or Japan, could "pose a risk of fire." The company has setup a Web site for customers to find out if they are affected, and is providing a replacement order form and return information. "Batteries subject to recall should not be used while awaiting a replacement battery pack from Dell, it says."
Microsoft Buys Project Software Firm
Microsoft on Friday announced plans to acquire software and intellectual property from United Management Technologies, which it will integrate into the next revision of Office. UMT provides project and portfolio management software that already connects with Microsoft Office Enterprise Project Management.
"With UMT's technology and portfolio framework, we will extend the Office EPM Solution to offer an end-to-end enterprise project and portfolio management solution," said Chris Capossela, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Information Worker Product Management Group. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Google Shrinks Gmail for Cell Phones
Google late Thursday rolled out Gmail Mobile, a miniaturized version of its popular Web mail service for cell phones and mobile devices. It automatically adjusts the interface depending on the size of the screen, and can even open attachments including Word documents, PDF files and pictures.
If a contact's phone number is in the Gmail address book, users can also reply to a message with a call. Gmail Mobile can be accessed free of charge by visiting m.gmail.com, but carrier data fees may apply. Google on Thursday also added two other features to Gmail: a vacation auto-responder and the ability to create contact groups.
RIAA Sues Another 751 File Swappers
The Recording Industry Association of America refuses to give up its legal efforts to stem the illicit use of P2P networks for trading copyrighted material, filing suit against another 751 individuals, including college students. The John Doe suits serve as placeholders until the RIAA can discover the users' identities.
The RIAA also re-filed 105 lawsuits against former John Does, whose names have come out during industry's investigations and court proceedings. The latest round of filings brings the total number of cases above 17,000 and follows 693 lawsuits the RIAA announced in September. NPD Group reported yesterday that use of file sharing networks has dropped, although the survey's accuracy has been questioned.
AOL to Test CD Install of Software Suite
While America Online won't go as far as to say AOL Suite will replace the aging AOL 9.0 client, the company is preparing to distribute its new package of applications on CD as part of a beta test called "Topeka." AOL Suite will be the first software from the company to ship on CD aside from its namesake client.
Integrating AOL Explorer, Mail and AIM Triton, AOL Suite will serve as the company's next-generation interface for subscribers. The idea was to build software that is more in tune with current consumer behavior -- from broadband to multi-tasking -- while moving away from an all-in-one client experience.
Forgent Licenses JPEG Patent to Yahoo
Scheduling software maker turned patent enforcer Forgent has announced an agreement with Yahoo in which the search engine will license the technology behind JPEG image compression. In exchange, Yahoo will be removed from litigation against companies Forgent claims are infringing on what it calls the '672 Patent.
Forgent obtained the patent through its 1997 purchase of Compression Labs. After unsuccessfully trying to sell its JPEG patent to Compaq, Forgent has switched its strategy to litigation -- a tactic that has proven successful. Forgent has sued 47 companies thus far and raked in more than $105 million in licensing fees from 50 others.
Windows XP Gets Security Certification
Touting the success of it's new Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) process, Microsoft late Wednesday said Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP SP2 Professional and Embedded have secured the highest Common Criteria security certification from the United States government's National Information Assurance Partnership.
Four versions of Windows Server 2003 were certified, including Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition and Windows Server 2003 Certificate Server. Both Windows 2000 Professional and Server editions previously achieved the same security rating, dubbed Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 4.
Microsoft Sues 10 for Software Piracy
Microsoft wants you to know that "Not For Resale" isn't just a recommendation. The Redmond company on Thursday announced that it had filed seven lawsuits against individuals who violated its Action Pack subscription agreement and three others against companies for pirating software.
The Microsoft Action Pack Subscriptions, or MAPS, offers a way for partners to obtain heavily discounted software from Microsoft. However, the software must only be used for internal testing and development, and may not be deployed on production systems or resold.
IE7 to Use Firefox's RSS Feed Icon
Since the announcement that Internet Explorer 7 would add built-in support for RSS news feeds there has been much discussion over two key points: what to call them and what icon to use. Microsoft developers shared conceptual designs in October, but have now settled on a preexisting icon -- Firefox's.
"I'm excited to announce that we're adopting the icon used in Firefox," said Jane Kim, program manager for RSS in IE. "We'll be using the icon in the IE7 command bar whenever a page has a feed associated with it, and we'll also use it in other places in the browser whenever we need a visual to represent RSS and feeds." Microsoft says it will continue to work with Mozilla to encourage consistency between browsers.
Illegal File Sharing Drops Post Grokster
According to research firm NPD Group, illegal peer-to-peer file sharing has dropped for the first time since the RIAA began its legal assault in 2003. Since that initial victory, P2P usage has only gone up -- until the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Grokster.
In June, an estimated 6.4 million United States households downloaded at least one music file, but by October that number had dipped to 5.7 million, an 11 percent decrease. NPD says the change is the first significant drop it has seen that is not related to "seasonality," such as students returning to school.
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